On the heels of her fiery speech at the UN Climate Action Summit, 16-year-old Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg has been named one of the 2019 Right Livelihood Award winners.
The international award, widely known as the “alternative Nobel Prize,” was established in 1980 to “honor and support courageous people solving global problems.”
The awards were announced at the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Stockholm, Sweden, on Wednesday.
The official ceremony takes place on December 4.
“I’m deeply grateful for being one of the recipients of this great honor,” Thunberg said in a statement. “But of course, whenever I receive an award, it is not me who is the winner. I am part of a global movement of school children, youth and adults of all ages who have decided to act in defense of our living planet. I share this award with them.”
Aminatou Haidar (Western Sahara), Guo Jianmei (China) and Davi Kopenawa / Hutukara Yanomami Association (Brazil) are the other recipients of the award.
Each of the winners will be awarded 1 million Swedish krona ($103,000).
“With the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, we honor four practical visionaries whose leadership has empowered millions of people to defend their inalienable rights and to strive for a liveable future for all on planet Earth,” said Ole von Uexkull, executive director of the Right Livelihood Foundation.
